Phillies linked to projected $54 million two-time All-Star amid roster shakeup

The Philadelphia Phillies are starting to work on 2025.

After a disappointing playoff exit, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has addressed the media and outlined some initial plans to return next year and capitalize on a closing championship window.

Discussing potential roster changes ahead of Opening Day, Dombrowski noted that the team is unlikely to re-sign two of their most talented relievers and will likely lose either Jeff Hoffman or Carlos Estévez to free agency, perhaps both.

As a result, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reported that the team will bolster their bullpen with some additions, singling out New York Yankees pitcher Clay Holmes as a potential name.

“Figure the Phillies add at least two higher-leverage relievers,” Gelb wrote. “One free agent to watch is still pitching this month: Clay Holmes, the Yankees righty who was demoted from the closer’s role but rebounded as a setup man.”

For much of the season, Holmes was one of the best closers in baseball, earning his second career All-Star nod for 2024. But he began to struggle in the second half and was relegated to lower-leverage innings. He had seemed to find his footing there, but in a sudden return to a high-leverage situation against the Cleveland Guardians in game three of the American League Championship Series, he gave up a walk-off homerun to David Fry .

He’s set to become a free agent this winter and those struggles might have hurt his next contract. But Spotrac has projected his market value at $54.9 million over four years, which would make him one of the game’s higher-paid relievers.

It’s unclear if Holmes can effectively return to a closing role but, assuming the team is unable to re-sign Hoffman or Estévez, they’ll be in need of a shutdown closer as well as a setup man. Holmes has played both roles to strong effect in the past.

Ultimately, the Phillies bullpen seems set for a significant shakeup. José Ruiz, who is eligible for salary arbitration, may not return either. The Phillies will be looking at premier free agents, the trade market as well as under-the-radar acquisitions to rebuild the relief corps ahead of next season.

“Our people in the organization have done a good job of taking guys that are not high-profile relievers,” Dombrowski said, per Gelb, “and making them productive pitchers for us. So we’ll explore that.”

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